Author name: sanjose

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk

 

How long, O LORD? I cry for help
but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not intervene.
Why do you let me see ruin;
why must I look at misery?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash one has no integrity;
but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

 

Response– If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

 

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R– If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

 

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R– If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

 

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R– If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts

Second Reading: 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14

A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy

 

Beloved:

I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit
that dwells within us.

 

Alleluia: 1 Pt 1:25

 

Alleluia, alleluia. The word of the Lord remains forever. This is the word that has been proclaimed to you. Alleluia, alleluia!

 

Gospel: Luke 17: 5-10

 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

 

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

Sources:

The Readings and Gospel were sourced from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100222.cfm

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Philippians 4:5

Verse:

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” - Philippians 4:5

Prayer For Gentleness

Lord, You want me to learn from you gentleness of heart. No matter how I fail you, Your gentleness never fails me. You are slow to anger; Your kindness is without limit. You tell me not to be distressed, to make your gentleness my own, so that my soul may find rest. Make my life less forceful, more gentle, centered in you alone. All this I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sources:

Original version of the prayer: https://prayerist.com/prayer/gentleness

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Saint Therese of the Child Jesus

Born on January 2, 1873, Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin was the youngest of nine children. She was well-loved and had an idyllic childhood. However, loss came to her at a tender age of four when her mother died of breast cancer.

Brought up in a deeply religious home, St. Therese’s piousness and piety developed at an early age. Her mother wanted to be a saint and her father had wanted to be a monk before they got married. Four of her elder sisters became nuns. St. Therese herself entered the Carmelite convent at Lisieux when she turned 15.

Life in the Carmelite convent consisted of prayers and rigorous domestic work. Despite her frail health, St. Therese persevered. She said that she came to the Carmel convent “to save souls and pray for priests.” She faced judgment and was the subject of gossip at times while she was in the convent. These did not deter her, instead she responded to these criticisms with the attitude of love. Her doctrine of the Little Way became known. She practiced her philosophy that what is important is not doing what is great but doing little things with the power of love.

St. Therese, also known as the Little Flower of Jesus, died of tuberculosis on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. She was the youngest and one of only three females to be declared as Doctors of the Catholic Church.

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John 14:21

Verse:

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” - John 14:21

Prayer To Keep God’s Commandments

God, ruler of all things, I pray today that I keep your commandments. I want to be more righteous, more loving, and more forgiving. I love you and know that you love me. Be with me, correct me, and lead me to do your will. I ask for forgiveness today, Amen.

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Saint Jerome

Saint Jerome is particularly important for having made a translation of the Bible which came to be called the Vulgate. It is not the most critical edition of the Bible, but its acceptance by the Church was fortunate. As a modern scholar says, “No man before Jerome or among his contemporaries and very few men for many centuries afterwards were so well qualified to do the work.” The Council of Trent called for a new and corrected edition of the Vulgate, and declared it the authentic text to be used in the Church. After these preparatory studies, he traveled extensively in Palestine, marking each spot of Christ’s life with an outpouring of devotion. Mystic that he was, he spent five years in the desert of Chalcis so that he might give himself up to prayer, penance, and study. Finally, he settled in Bethlehem, where he lived in the cave believed to have been the birthplace of Christ. Jerome died in Bethlehem, and the remains of his body now lie buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

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John 4:24

Verse:

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” - John 4:24

Prayer To Trust God’s Word

Heavenly Father, thank You that You sent Jesus to be born as a man. I pray that like Christ I may live my life trusting Your Word, in submission to the Holy Spirit and in total dependence upon You, so that I may worship You as You desire... in spirit and in truth, to Your praise and glory, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

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Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael

Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.

Michael appears in Daniel’s vision as “the great prince” who defends Israel against its enemies; in the Book of Revelation, he leads God’s armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Devotion to Michael is the oldest angelic devotion, rising in the East in the fourth century. The Church in the West began to observe a feast honoring Michael and the angels in the fifth century.

Gabriel also makes an appearance in Daniel’s visions, announcing Michael’s role in God’s plan. His best-known appearance is an encounter with a young Jewish girl named Mary, who consents to bear the Messiah.

Raphael’s activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit’s son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah’s marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit’s blindness, and the restoration of the family fortune.
The memorials of Gabriel and Raphael were added to the Roman calendar in 1921. The 1970 revision of the calendar joined their individual feasts to Michael’s.

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Matthew 26:41

Verse:

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” - Matthew 26:41

Prayer Against Temptation

By Your grace, Father, empower me to reject sin. Fill me with Your Spirit and remind me that I am a new creation in Christ. Although I once walked in sin and darkness, by the salvation I now possess, I no longer am bound to walk in those former ways. To You, who gives the power to be witnesses in our lives, and by Your Son’s name, I pray. Amen.

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Saint Lorenzo Ruiz

Lorenzo was born in Manila of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, both Christians. Thus he learned Chinese and Tagalog from them, and Spanish from the Dominicans whom he served as altar boy and sacristan. He became a professional calligrapher, transcribing documents in beautiful penmanship. He was a full member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary under Dominican auspices. He married and had two sons and a daughter. He joined a Dominican missionary expedition in Japan in order to escape arrest for a crime of which he was accused. He was arrested by the Japanese authorities in Nagasaki, tortures and executed in September 1637. It was said that during his last moments, he uttered these lines to their executioners,

“I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do accept death for God.Had I a thousand lives, all these to Him, shall I offer.”

In 1987, Pope John Paul II canonized these six and 10 others: Asians and Europeans, men and women, who spread the faith in the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan. Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr.

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Lapay Bantigue Dance Festival

It is a local dance art festival that originated from the graceful movements of hovering birds known as seagulls or the LAPAY, found abundant in Barangay Bantigue, Masbate. Flocks of lapay seagulls created a marvelous scenery and inspired the old folks to come up with a local folk dance, that since then has exited and has become an important aspect of the local culture of the people of Brgy. Banitgue and the entire Masbate. It is a day of art, music, and festivity for the beauty of creation.

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